Service protection enclosure for and method of constructing a remote wireless telecommunication site

ABSTRACT

A service protection enclosure (SPE) for a cellular telephone or other wireless telecommunications transceiver site is disclosed. The site has at least one antenna (3) which transceives communication signals, radio equipment for receiving and sending radio signals from and to the antenna, transmission means (37, 39) for connecting the radio equipment and the antenna so as to carry the signals therebetween, AC power service lines (47) for providing power to the site, and telephone lines (48, and/or 115) for connecting the site with a telephone or other communication network. The services protection enclosure comprises a cabinet (35) adapted to be secured to a suitable foundation (29), the cabinet having side walls (55, 57), a top (53), and at least one door (61 or 63) providing access to the interior of the cabinet. The cabinet houses an AC power distribution panel (101) and receives the AC service lines (47), the telephone lines (48), and the RF transmission means (37, 39). The interior of the cabinet has a plurality of separate compartments (73, 75, 77) therewithin including a first compartment (75) housing means for receiving the AC power service lines, a second compartment (77) for housing means (91) for terminating the radio equipment transmission means, and a third compartment (73) for housing means (114) for terminating the telephone lines within the cabinet (35). The service protection enclosure further has a single point grounding system (SPG) for grounding all components, services, and terminations within the service protection enclosure and within the radio equipment cabinet (31) to common ground potential (43).

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/504,199,filed Jul. 19, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,710,804.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to an outdoor enclosure or cabinet (referred toas a service protection enclosure) to be installed during theconstruction of a remote wireless telecommunications site (e.g., acellular telephone "cell site") or the like, for housing the AC(alternating current) power termination connections, AC powerdistribution panel and circuit breakers, for housing RF (radiofrequency) transmission cable terminations, and for housing telephoneequipment for the termination of the telephone lines (referred to as"telco" lines) leading to and from the site. Importantly, the serviceprotection enclosure of the present invention provides single pointgrounding for protecting the radio equipment and RF, telco and AC powerterminations within the enclosure from lightning strikes and low powervoltage transient signals often present on the telco lines, AC powerlines and on the RF cables that interfere with communicationstransmissions to and from the site. In this manner, all connections andlines to the radio equipment are provided with clean, filtered power orsignals. This invention further relates to a method of constructing sucha remote wireless telecommunications site utilizing a service protectionenclosure, as above-described.

In recent years, there has been a rapid growth of the telecommunicationsand wireless communications industry. This rapid growth has meant thatnetworks of wireless telecommunications transceiver sites have beenconstructed across the U.S. and around the world. This has beenparticularly true in the cellular telephone industry where cell sitesmust be constructed to provide a network of overlapping service areas byeach cell site such that cellular service may be offered throughout theservice area to be served by the network. Typically, a cell site willhave a tall tower for supporting the antennas for the cell site. Inaddition, provision must be made at the cellsite for housing the radioequipment, for interconnecting the cellsite to the telephone or telconetwork, and for supplying AC power to the cell site. This has typicallyrequired the construction of a shelter at the cellsite to house thisequipment and to provide an area where the various services may beconnected with one another.

However, particularly in metropolitan areas, it is usually necessary toobtain approval under the zoning laws of the particular community inwhich the cell site is to be constructed. There has been considerableopposition to the construction of such cell sites, due primarily to thetall tower required and the utilitarian appearance of the shelterenclosing the necessary equipment at the cell site. It has thus been along-standing problem of obtaining zoning approval for the constructionof such cell sites.

In recent years, there has been a trend to house the radio equipment atthe cell site in an outdoor equipment cabinet, with the other services(e.g., AC power and telco interconnections) housed in other outdoorcabinets. Generally, the cabinet used to house the radio equipment istoo small to house the other equipment. While this trend of housing theequipment in separate enclosures or cabinets has eliminated the need fora shelter, it has resulted in multiple cabinets and it has increased thecomplexity of the construction process in installing the separatecabinets and the equipment therein, in interconnecting the equipment inthe separate cabinets, and in providing adequate grounding ineliminating ground loop currents and voltages between the equipment inthe separate cabinets.

There have, however, been safety and security concerns for housing allof the equipment jointly with the radio equipment in a single cabinet orenclosure. It is generally not good security or safety practice to allowpower company personnel access to the radio equipment or to allow thetelco personnel access to the AC power equipment. Further, there havebeen grounding problems and RF interference problems when the AC powerterminations and the telco terminations were housed in close proximityto the radio equipment.

In addition, there has been a long-standing problem of how best toprotect the equipment at such a cellsite from voltage surges, lightningstrikes, and from transient voltages, and how to best protect thisequipment from any currents that may flow across the terminals of theequipment caused by any difference in the grounding potentials betweenthe remotely located equipment where such remotely located equipment isgrounded to different points within the site.

In the construction of cell sites, prior to the present invention, therewas typically a problem in scheduling different trades to perform theirwork at the cell site. Often, a trade (e.g., those craftsmen who connectthe RF coax cables to the radio equipment) cannot perform their job atthe site until other work (e.g., installation of the radio equipment inits cabinet) has been done. This is particularly true when the variousequipment must be installed in different enclosures or within a shelter.Further, those skilled in this field will recognize that there may belong lead times required for certain equipment to be delivered to thesite. Heretofore, these long lead time items (especially the radioequipment) would adversely impact the scheduling of the installation ofthe other equipment at the site.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Among the several objects and features of the present invention may benoted the provision of a single services protection enclosure for atelecommunications site which has terminations for the RF transmissioncables or lines linking the radio equipment installed in another cabinetor in a shelter to the antenna on the tower, terminations for connectingAC power service lines leading to the site to the enclosure, and spacewithin the services protection enclosure for terminating the telco linesto the enclosure such that once the service protection enclosure of thepresent invention is installed at the site, the various trades need onlyconnect their respective service lines (e.g., AC service lines, telcolines, or RF transmission lines) to respective terminations providedwithin the services protection enclosure thereby to minimize schedulingof the various trades at the site during construction;

The provision of such a services protection enclosure which incorporatesan integrated single point grounding system along with voltage filtersand transient voltage surge suppression within the enclosure thereby toprovide a common grounding potential, to minimize damage from lightningstrikes at the site, to eliminate or minimize unwanted voltage surges,to insure that the radio equipment is provided with clean, filteredsignals or power, and to insure that all of the equipment installedwithin the site is at the same potential so as to prevent unwantedtransient currents across the terminals, and so as to insure that theradio equipment within the site only is subjected to the same filteredor "clean" signals;

The provision of such a services protection enclosure which providessecure compartments within the overall enclosure specially constructedto house an AC distribution panel, AC circuit breakers, AC terminations,telco termination panels, and radio equipment cabling terminations, andwhich provides for the ready termination and interconnection of the ACpower service lines, the telco lines, and the RF cabling;

The provision of such a services protection enclosure which is pre-wiredsuch that the single point grounding is in place within the enclosurewhen it is delivered to the construction site such that only oneproperly installed ground connection need be made to adequately groundthe services protection enclosure and all of the equipment and terminalshoused throughout the site to a single point on the site groundingsystem;

The provision of such a services protection enclosure which enclosesseparate and secure areas or compartments within the enclosure forhousing the telco connections and terminations, the radio equipmentterminations, and the AC power distribution panel and terminations insuch separate secured areas such that personnel at the site may beselectively denied or permitted access to the equipment within theenclosure on an as needed basis thereby to provide security for theradio equipment and to prevent untrained personnel from inadvertentlycoming into contact with radio equipment;

The provision of such a services protection enclosure which issufficiently large to enclose the AC circuit breakers and termination,radio equipment terminations, the telco communications, and otherequipment that may be required (e.g., such as aircraft warning lightcontrols and on-site storage of safety equipment);

The provision of such a services protection enclosure in which an ACwatt-hour meter may be read without having to open the enclosure;

The provision of such a services protection enclosure which is lessconspicuous and more aesthetically pleasing to surrounding propertyowners than prior cell site shelters or sites with multiple cabinetssuch that it may be easier to obtain zoning clearance for theconstruction of cell sites using the services protection enclosure ofthe present invention;

The provision of such a services protection enclosure which is adaptedto be powered by an AC generator in the event of an emergency and whichis provided with a mechanical interlock switch;

The provision of such a services protection enclosure which is ofweather tight and rugged construction, which reduces site constructioncosts and maintenance costs, which is of economical construction, whichconforms to applicable electrical codes, which is easy and economical toinstall, which allows equipment to be installed at the factory or shopinstead of at the construction site, and which improves the service lifeand facilitates maintenance of the radio equipment and of the cell site;and

The provision of a method of constructing a cell site or the like whichinvolve the use of a services protection enclosure of the presentinvention such that the scheduling of construction activities at thesite is independent of the schedule of the installation of the AC powerlines to the site, of the installation of the telephone lines to thesite, and/or of the delivery of the radio equipment to the site.

Briefly stated, this invention relates to a service protection enclosurefor a cellular telephone or other wireless telecommunicationstransceiver site, the site having at least one antenna which transceivescommunication signals. The site further has radio equipment forreceiving and sending radio signals from and to the antenna,transmission means for connecting the radio equipment and the antenna soas to carry the signals therebetween, AC power service lines forproviding power to the site, and telephone (telco) lines for connectingthe site with a telephone or other communication network. Still further,the services protection enclosure comprises a cabinet adapted to besecured to a suitable foundation and having side walls, a top, a back,and at least one door providing access to the interior of the cabinet.The cabinet receives the AC service lines, the telephone lines, and theRF transmission cables. The interior of the cabinet has a plurality ofseparate compartments therewithin including a first compartment housingan AC power distribution panel and having means for connection the ACpower service lines to the AC power distribution panel, a secondcompartment for housing means for terminating the radio equipmenttransmission means, and a third compartment for housing means forterminating the telephone lines within the enclosure. Still further, theservice protection enclosure has a single point grounding system forgrounding the AC power distribution panel and circuit breakers, theradio equipment transmission means, and the telco termination means suchthat all components and terminations within the service protectionenclosure are at a common ground potential.

The method of this invention relates to the construction a remotewireless telecommunications site or the like. The site has an antennafor transmitting and/or receiving wireless communications, radioequipment and radio frequency transmission cabling for sending andreceiving the communications to and from the antenna, means forconnecting the radio equipment to a telephone communications networkincluding telephone lines servicing the site, and means for powering thesite and the radio equipment, the powering means including AC servicelines servicing the site. Importantly, the method of this invention isindependent of the scheduling of the installation of the AC powerservices lines to the site, or to the installation of the telephonelines to the site, or of the installation of the radio equipment on thesite. The method comprises the steps of installing a services protectionenclosure at the desired location at the site. The service protectionenclosure has AC service line termination means and an AC powerdistribution panel, telephone line termination means, and radiofrequency transmission cabling termination means therein. The servicesprotection enclosure further has a telephone termination compartment,and an AC service line termination compartment separate from thetelephone termination compartment. The method further comprises the stepof terminating the AC service lines to the AC termination means in theAC termination compartment of the service protection enclosure at suchconvenient time after the AC service lines are provided at the site. Itwill be noted that this is not dependent upon the prior or subsequentinstallation of any other equipment at the site. The method furtherinvolves terminating the radio frequency cabling in the servicesprotection enclosure at a convenient time. The method further involvesterminating the telephone lines within the telephone terminationcompartment of the services protection enclosure at such time as thetelephone lines are provided at the site.

Other objects and features of this invention will be in part apparentand in part pointed out hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a prior art remote wireless telecommunicationssite (e.g., a cellular telephone site) having a lattice antenna and ashelter for housing radio equipment, an AC power distribution panel, andtelephone lines terminations within the shelter;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a remote wireless telecommunications sitehaving a lattice tower and a services protection enclosure of thepresent intention for housing the terminations of AC power to the site,terminations of telephone lines to the site and for termination of theRF connections between the radio equipment and the antenna on the towerwith all of the equipment and terminations in the services protectionenclosure being grounded to a single point;

FIG. 3 plan view of another remote wireless telecommunications sitehaving a monopole tower and a services protection enclosure of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of the service protection enclosureinstalled on a concrete pad (shown in partial cross section) with itsdoors open so as to illustrate compartments or areas therein for housingtelco terminations in a compartment separate from the AC powerconnections and the AC panel and separate from the RF cablingterminations between the radio equipment and the antenna, and foroptionally housing safety equipment within the service protectionenclosure;

FIG. 5 is a right side elevational view of the services protectionenclosure shown in FIG. 4 illustrating a utility meter cabinet forhousing a watt-hour meter for metering the AC power supplied to thesite, for housing a generator plug, and further illustrating RF coaxialcable connectors for enabling RF cabling between the antenna on thetower to be connected to the services protection enclosure and enablingRF cabling from the radio equipment housed in a separate enclosure to beconnected to the services protection enclosure;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the services protection enclosure shown inFIG. 4 (with the doors shown partly open and cut away for clarity andwith only a portion of the top wall of the cabinet shown) illustrating apartition extending from one side to the other and from top to bottom ofthe services protection enclosure generally dividing the interior of theservices protection enclosure into two areas, namely a first areareferred to as the RF termination compartment and a second area referredto as the telco and AC power termination compartment, with anotherpartition dividing the second area into a telco compartment separate andapart from an AC power termination compartment;

FIG. 7 is a left side elevational view taken along line 7--7 of FIG. 4illustrating the left elevation of the services protection enclosurewith the major portion of the cabinet side wall broken away to show anAC power distribution panel located in the RF cable terminationcompartment and illustrating the telco compartment;

FIG. 8 semi-diagrammatic plan view of a portion of the site illustratingthe services protection enclosure and its relating to a base transceiverstation cabinet housing the radio equipment (and two possible futurebase transceiver station cabinets) and further illustrating a firstcovered cable tray between the base transceiver station and the servicesprotection enclosure and second covered cable tray between the servicesprotection enclosure and the cable ways leading up the tower to theantenna;

FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram illustrating the connection of AC serviceslines via a watt-hour meter to an AC service panel and furtherillustration a generator receptacle which may be connected to anelectrical generator for powering the AC service panel in the eventpower is not available from the AC service lines, with the AC servicepanel having switches for transferring the supplying of power betweenthe AC service lines and an emergency AC generator;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of a connector socket for interconnecting RFcabling from the RF equipment and the cabling leading to the antennatower; and

FIG. 11 (sheet 2) is an exploded perspective view of the servicesprotection enclosure, its base ring, and the concrete pad on which thebase ring is secured illustrating the preferred method of installing theservice protection enclosure at the site.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding partsthroughout the several views of the drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings and more specifically to FIG. 1, a priorart remote wireless telecommunications site, such as a cellulartelephone antenna site, is indicated in its entirety by referencecharacter 1. The site includes an antenna tower as generally indicatedat 3. As shown in FIG. 1, antenna tower 3 is a lattice-type tower whichmay be of any desired height and supporting any of a wide variety ofknown wireless telecommunications antenna (not shown). The particulartower illustrated in FIG. 1 has a triangular cross section, but anytower shape or construction may be used. The site further has a shelteror equipment building, as generally indicated at 5, proximate theantenna tower and housing or enclosing the various equipment (as willappear) for use at the site. A weather protected cable tray or bridge 7extends between shelter 5 and the tower 3 for carrying RF coaxialtransmission cables (not shown in FIG. 1). Typically, this cable tray orbridge 7 is supported about eight (8) feet or so above grade level. Theshelter houses radio equipment, as generally indicated at 9, of the typegenerally used at a wireless transceiver site for sending and receivingradio communications for a cellular telephone transceiver site or otherwireless telecommunications site.

As is typical, a utility pole 11 is located at or near the site 1. Theutility pole carries AC power service lines 13 and telephone line 15(also referred to as "telco" lines). The AC service lines 13 supply ACpower to the site, and the telco lines 15 link the radio equipment 9within the shelter 5 to a telephone or other communications network. TheAC service lines 13 terminate in an AC distribution panel 17 withinshelter 5 and the distribution panel is connected to the RF equipment 9by conductors 19 for powering the RF equipment. Likewise, the telcolines terminate with a respective telco termination panel 20 and areconnected to the RF equipment by appropriate wiring 21 such thatcommunications may be transmitted between the telco lines 15 and the RFequipment 9 whereby communications may be transceived by the RFequipment and transmitted to and from the telephone network in themanner well known to those skilled in the field. A multiple pointgrounding system 23 surrounds shelter 5 and grounds the variousequipment and structures at the site to various grounding rodsincorporated in the grounding system. More specifically, the multiplepoint grounding system 23 includes a first grounding rod G1 to which theAC power panel and terminations are grounded, a second ground rod G2 towhich the telco terminations are grounded, and a third ground point G3to which the radio equipment terminations and RF cabling terminationsare grounded. As previously noted, such multiple point grounding systemswere necessary because the various equipment and terminations werelocated in regions of the shelter or cell site remote from one another.These separate grounding rods could, under certain circumstances, have asomewhat different grounding potential from one another which couldresult in a difference in grounding potentials at different locationswithin the site. These differences in grounding potentials oftentimesresulted in the generation of unwanted ground loop currents andvoltages.

Still referring to FIG. 1, the shelter 5 used with such prior art sitesis relatively large (e.g., about 12 feet by about 18 feet). It, ofcourse, has a roof (not shown) and is oftentimes air conditioned so asto protect the equipment therein. The overall size of such a prior arttelecommunications site may be, for example, about 75 feet by about 75feet.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a wireless telecommunications site of thepresent invention is indicated in its entirety by reference character27. This site includes a concrete pad 29 poured adjacent tower 3. Aso-called base transceiver station, as generally indicated at 31, ismounted on the pad. This base transceiver station includes a cabinet 33for housing radio equipment therewithin thus eliminating the necessityof a shelter for the radio equipment, such as described above in regardto the prior art site 1. Preferably, but not necessarily, pad 29 is ofsufficient size as to accommodate other base transceiver stations 31'(as shown in dotted lines in FIGS. 2 and 3) such that as the use of thesite grows, additional capability may be readily added to the site so asto expand the use of the site for other types of wirelesstelecommunications.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, site 27 of the present invention furtherincludes a services protection enclosure, as generally indicated as SPE,for housing equipment (other than the radio equipment) that was formerlyhoused in shelter 5. In this manner, the services protection enclosureSPE of the present invention eliminates the need for a shelter forhousing the equipment other than the radio equipment at the site. Ofcourse, the SPE comprises a weatherproof cabinet 35 (as will behereinafter described in detail) for housing the equipment. Radiofrequency (RF) cabling 37, typically a group of small diameter coaxialcables, extends between the radio equipment housed within RF cabinet 33and the services equipment enclosure cabinet 35. Preferably, RF cabling37 is housed in a weather proof cable trough (not shown) extendingbetween the RF equipment cabinet 33 and the service equipment enclosure35. Further, other RF transmission cabling, as indicated at 39, ishoused within the weather protected cable support structure 7 extendingfrom the services protection enclosure and the tower 3 with this RFcabling 39 transmitting signals between the RF cabling 37 and theantennas on tower 3. Usually, cabling 39 is coaxial cable of asubstantially larger diameter than cabling 37 linking the RF equipmentand the services equipment enclosure cabinet 35. Further, AC power lines38 and telephone interconnect lines 115 (as hereinafter described) fromthe services protection enclosure SPE are also carried in by the cabletray carrying RF cabling 37 with the AC power lines supplying power tothe radio equipment.

In accordance with this invention, a single point grounding system, asindicated generally at SPG, is provided for grounding cabinet 35, all ofthe equipment within cabinet 35, for the radio equipment in radioequipment cabinet 33, and for other structures and equipment at the site27, including additional base transceiver cabinets 31" that may be addedto the site at a later time. As shown in FIG. 2, a common or mastergrounding bus bar 41 is installed within the SPE to commonly ground allcomponents and structure within the SPE. As will appear, all of theterminations, cabling, service panels, and structure of the SPE aregrounded to master bus bar 41 by suitable grounding wires in theconventional manner well known to those skilled in the art. Uponinstallation of the services protection enclosure SPE at the site, onlya single grounding rod 43 properly installed is required, and only onegrounding wire, as indicated at 44, need be connected between bus bar 41and grounding rod 43 thereby to insure that all of the equipment, allterminations, and all structure of cabinet 35 are properly grounded.Preferably, a grounding conduit, as indicated at 42 in FIG. 11, isprovided in pad 29 to receive a common grounding wire 44 which connectedto bus bar 41, routed through conduit 42, and connected to grounding rod43. It will be understood that the radio equipment 31 in basetransceiver cabinet 33 may be grounded to the single point groundingsystem SPG of the present invention by grounding the cabinet 31 and allof the equipment and terminations therein to a master bus bar (notshown) located within cabinet 31 and by connecting a suitable groundingwire to this master bus bar and by routing this grounding wire to theservices protection enclosure SPE where it may be connected to masterbus bar 41. In this manner, the equipment within cabinet 31 is groundedin the same manner as the structure of the services protection enclosureSPE and the equipment therein. Grounding rod 43 may be located outsideof pad 29. The master ground bus bar 41 for the services protectionenclosure SPE is preferably a commercially available bus bar, such as amodel B544A027 sold by Erico Inc. of Solon, Ohio. Because of the singlepoint grounding SPG system of the present invention, differences ingrounding potential between the different types of equipment andservices no longer have any substantial effect on the radio equipmentwhich sees only one potential with decreased chances for ground loopcurrents.

The site 27 is further grounded against lightning strikes by a series ofgrounding rods 45 spaced around the tower 3 pad 29. These grounding rodsare interconnected by a ground wire 46 buried underground andsurrounding tower 3 and pad 29. All of the structures at the site areinterconnected to the lightning grounding system including the securityfence 25 and the like so as to provide an equipotential surface forpersonnel safety and to prevent flashovers in the event of a lightningstrike at the site. Note, this lightning grounding system is separatefrom the single point grounding SPG system heretofore described for theservices protection enclosure SPE of the present invention.

As with the prior art site 1 heretofore described, site 27 of thepresent invention has a utility pole 11 associated therewith carrying ACservice lines 47 for supplying AC power (e.g., 220 volt, single phasepower) to the site and carrying telco service lines 48 to the site forconnecting the site to a telephone or other communications network. Itwill be understood that within the broader scope of this invention thatit is not necessary to provide a utility pole 11 at the site. Instead,the AC service lines 47 and the telco lines 48 may be underground linesor the like fed into concrete pad 29 via conduits or chasesformed-in-place within the pad in a manner as will be described indetail hereinafter.

Referring now to FIG. 3, an alternative site of the present invention isindicated in its entirety by reference character 49. This alternate site49 is similar in construction and operation to site 27 heretoforedescribed, except the antenna tower is shown to be a monopole tower 51instead of the lattice tower illustrated in FIG. 2.

The services protection enclosure SPE of the present invention is bestshown in FIGS. 4-7. As shown, the SPE cabinet 35 is made of suitablesheet metal or the like so as to provide weather and environmentalprotection to the equipment housed therein and provides security to theequipment. The cabinet has a top 53, and sides 55, 57 which are securedto a base ring 59 (see FIG. 4). A floor 58 is provided in the bottom ofthe cabinet above the base ring. The sides hingedly support a front door61 and a rear door 63 which may be swung open (as shown in FIG. 6) toprovide access to the equipment within cabinet 35. As viewed from theright and left sides (i.e., FIGS. 5 and 7, respectively), cabinet 35includes a door frame 65 against which a respective door 61 or 63sealingly mates with to provide a weathertight enclosure. Of course, adoor seal gasket (not shown) may be carried on the inside face of thedoors to sealingly mate with the mating surface of the door frame to aidin sealing. Optionally, drip hoods (not shown) may be secured to top 53so as to extend out beyond the sides of the top above the tops of doors61 and 63 so as to prevent rainwater or the like from directly impingingon the door seals. A door latch assembly, as indicated at 67 may becarried by the door frame so as to latch its respective door in itsclosed position. As will be appreciated, the door latch 67 mayincorporate a security lock for securing the door in its closedposition.

As shown best in FIG. 6, cabinet 35 has in interior partition 69extending between the inner faces of cabinet sides 55 and 57. Further,the cabinet has another partition 71 extending perpendicularly frompartition 69 toward rear door 63. Thus, partitions 69 and 71 definethree compartments within cabinet 35, namely a telco terminationcompartment 73 which houses telco terminations (as will be hereinafterdescribed), an AC service entrance compartment 75 (also referred to asthe AC service line termination compartment) into which AC service lines45 enter the service protection enclosure (as will be described), and anRF termination compartment 77 which houses means 79 (see FIGS. 6 and 10)for terminating RF cabling 37 which extends between the radio equipmentin the RF equipment cabinet 33 and the RF cabling 39 which extends fromthe service protection enclosure and the antenna tower 3. Security lock67 on door 63 isolates the telco compartment 73 and the AC serviceentrance compartment 75 so as prevent unauthorized service personnelfrom having access to these compartments and the equipment therein. Inthis way personnel are protected against accidental electrical shock andthe security of both the telco terminations and the AC serviceconnections is maintained. It will be appreciated that the front door 61for cabinet 35 serves as the door for the RF termination compartment 77and it too may be provided with a security lock.

As noted above, cabinet 35 has a base ring 59 which is secured toconcrete pad 29 so as to solidly mount the SPE to the concrete pad.Those skilled in the art will recognize that the cabinet 35 may bemounted to the pad in a number of satisfactory ways, but a preferredmanner of mounting is to provide the concrete pad with a plurality ofJ-bolts J (see FIG. 4) which are accurately positioned by means of atemplate T (see FIG. 11) such that upon pouring of the pad, the J-boltsare cast in place in the pad in a desired position to mate with holes inthe base ring 59 which receive the J-bolts. Nuts N are threaded on theJ-bolts so as to solidly mount the base ring to the pad (see FIG. 11).

It is preferred that the AC service lines 47 and the telco lines 48 berouted underground to the SPE. In order to best accomplish thisunderground routing of the AC service lines and the telco lines, it ispreferred (see FIG. 11) that the concrete pad be provided with conduitsor chases 79, 81, 83 and 85 which receive the AC service lines 47 andthe telco lines 48 and 115. These chases are set in place within thetemplate T which forms the concrete pad 29 and are cast in place uponpouring of the pad. The above-noted template used to locate the positionof J-bolts J in pad 29 and to locate chases 79, 81, 83 and 85 such thatupon mounting of the SPE on the pad, the chases are in register withdesired openings in the floor 58 of the SPE, as shown in FIG. 4. Thechases extend up above the pad approximately seven inches so that theywill extend above the level of base ring 59 and register with theconduit openings in the floor 58 of cabinet 35 such that the AC servicelines 47 and the telco lines 48 exit their respective chases in registerwith their intended compartments within the cabinet 35. As noted above,pad 21 is preferably provided with a conduit 42 for receiving thegrounding wire for connecting the master ground bus bar 41 and thesingle point grounding rod 43.

As previously noted, RF transmission cabling 37 extends between RFequipment cabinet 33 and the SPE. These RF cables may be carried in theabove-described RF cable trough (not shown) extending between the RFequipment cabinet 33 and the SPE. Preferably, these RF cables 37 enterthe SPE via a opening 87 in the side of base ring 59 (see FIG. 4) in theside of the base ring toward RF cabinet 33. This RF cabling 37 extendswithin base ring 59 and extends upwardly through an opening 89 (see FIG.6) in the floor 58 of cabinet 35 into RF termination compartment 77 toan RF termination panel 91. As perhaps is best shown in FIG. 11, basering 59 is provided with removable access panels 59" which when removedenable the RF cabling to be routed into the base ring. Preferably, knockout plates (not shown) may be provided in panel 91 which, uponinstallation of the SPE at the site, may be selectively punched out asrequired so as to accommodate the cables. As indicated at 90 in FIG. 6,an opening may be provided in the floor 58 within telco terminationcompartment 73 so that relatively small diameter radioequipment/telephone lines 115 may be run from the compartment 73, intothe base 59 and then from the SPE to the RF equipment within the BTScabinet.

As shown best in FIGS. 4-6, a power meter base 93 is provided within ACservice entrance compartment 75. This meter base 93 has a conventionalmeter socket 95 (see FIG. 9) for receiving a conventional watt-hourmeter 97. Preferably, a transparent access door 99 is provided (see FIG.6) so as to permit a meter reader to view and to read the watt-hourmeter 97 through the door without having to open the access door. Ofcourse, access door 99 may be opened so as to enable access to the meterby power company personnel or the like by using a coin or a screwdriverto open the access door.

As best shown in FIGS. 5-7, the AC power system included within the SPEfurther includes an AC power distribution panel and load center, asgenerally indicated at 101, located within the RF terminationcompartment 77 and accessible by opening front door 61 of cabinet 35. Itwill be understood that if the size of the service protection enclosureof this invention is sufficiently large, the load panel 101 may belocated within the AC service line entrance compartment 75.

Load center 101 comprises a number of circuit breakers 103 (see FIG. 9)for supplying AC power to the various components at the site, such asthe RF equipment, lighting, monitoring systems and the like. Preferably,load center 101 is AC power main distribution panel for single phase, 3wire, 200 Amp, 120/240 volt, single phase service with a minimum of 12branches or circuit breakers. A 24 position load center is preferred.This load panel is commercially available from Square D and a modelNQOD42L225 is preferred. Of course, those skilled in the art willrecognize that numerous other load center panels may be used in place ofthe above-noted Square D panel. The various circuit breakers in panel101 may be connected to power conductors 38 which supply AC power to theradio equipment located in cabinet 33.

In many applications, it is desirable that the telecommunications site27 be provided with a means for powering the site in the event power isnot available from the power company over the AC service lines 47.Accordingly, it is typical to provide the site with means for enablingan emergency generator to supply the site with AC power. This isaccomplished by providing the SPE with a receptacle 105 to which such anemergency AC generator (not shown) may be readily connected to the loaddistribution panel 101 in the same manner as power is supplied by the ACservice lines. Preferably, receptacle 105 is a 200 amp, 3 wire 4 polereceptacle with a spring loaded cover or door. The load center isprovided with a manual transfer switch for switching between AC powersupplied by service lines 47 and the emergency generator so as toprovide a transfer point between commercial AC power via service lines47 and emergency generator power. In addition, main disconnect switches109 and 111 are respectively provided on the panel for disconnecting theAC power supplied either by the service lines or by the emergencygenerator. Preferably, the transfer switch has a walking beam mechanicalinterlock to assure that both switches 109 and 111 can be in the offposition, but both switches cannot both be on. One or more fluorescentor other lighting fixtures 112 (see FIG. 9) may be mounted withincabinet 35 for providing service personnel with adequate lighting forworking on the equipment and components within the SPE. In addition, two110 volt ground fault interrupter outlets or receptacles 113 may beprovided into which service personnel may power their service tools.

Referring now to FIG. 6, telco line termination panels 114 are mountedwithin telco termination compartment 73 so that telco termination racks(not shown) may be readily mounted within compartment 73 such thatconductors from telco service lines 48 entering the SPE via chases 79 or81 installed in concrete pad 29 may be terminated within the SPE andproperly interconnected to an interface between the telco lines and theradio equipment within RF equipment cabinet 33. In addition, radioequipment-telephone connection lines 115 (see FIGS. 4 and 6) exit telcotermination compartment 73 via opening 90 in SPE floor 58, and sideopenings 87 in the base ring 59 so as to be connected to the RFequipment located remotely in cabinet 33. In this manner, the radioequipment is connected to the telephone network to which the telcoservice lines 48 and/or 115 are connected.

Further, AC power lines 38 are connected to load panel 101 for supplyingAC power to the radio equipment in cabinet 33 with these AC power linesexiting cabinet 35 through appropriate openings (not shown) in cabinetfloor 58.

In accordance with this invention, a ground wire 116 (see FIG. 6) isprovided in compartment 73 so that the terminations of telco servicelines 48 and the RF connection lines 115 may be grounded to masterground bus bar 41 so as to accomplish single point grounding for theseterminations. A transient voltage surge suppression system, as indicatedat TVSS, may be located within telco termination compartment 73 and isalso grounded to the master grounding bus bar 41 by ground wire 116.

Referring now to FIGS. 4-6 and 10, RF termination panel 91 comprises aplurality of surge protectors/termination connectors 117 are shown forterminating RF cables 37 between the SPE and the RF equipment in the RFequipment cabinet 33 and for terminating the RF cabling 39 leadingbetween the SPE and the antenna carried by tower 3. It will beappreciated that cabling 37 is typically of a smaller diameter than coaxcabling 39. Connectors 117 installed on side wall 57 of cabinet 35 thusconstitute means for terminating cabling 37 and 39 and forinterconnecting these cables to one another. Preferably, connector 117is a surge protector/termination plug commercially available fromPolyphaser Corporation of Minden, N.J. which protects against up to 50KVA transient currents. These plugs also provide DC blocked protectionto the incoming coaxial cables. Optionally, quarter wave surgeprotectors (not shown) may be substituted for connectors 117. Thesequarter wave surge protectors protect the incoming cables at broad bandfrequencies ranging from 400 MHz to 3 GHz and all frequencies other thanthe operating frequency are filtered out and are diverted to ground viasite master bus bar 41 to the single point grounding rod 43. In thismanner, clean, filtered signals are insured for the RF radio equipment.It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that connectors 117may be readily grounded to the single point grounding system SPG byconnecting a grounding wire (not shown) to each of the connectors and tobus bar 41. A waterproof jacket or sleeve (not shown) is placed over theconnector 117 to further weather proof the connection.

Referring to FIG. 9, load panel 101 is provided with a neutral groundbond, as is indicated at 121, which in turn is connected to masterground bus bar 41 by a suitable grounding wire 122. As previouslydescribed, bus bar 41 is electrically connected to ground rod 43 (seeFIG. 2) in accordance with the National Electrical Code (NEC) coderequirements.

In accordance with this invention, ground bus bar 41 is solidly mountedto cabinet 35 in such manner that all regions of the cabinet areelectrically grounded to the bus bar. Further, means, as indicated at123, is provided for electrically grounding all terminals and componentswithin all of the compartments within housing 35 to the master groundbus bar 41. This grounding means may, for example, comprise coppergrounding wires (which may be similar to grounding wires 116 and 122heretofore described) extending between the component(s) to be groundedand the ground bus bar 41 with the grounding wires electrically securedto both the component to be grounded and the ground bus bar.

Still further in accordance with this invention, it will be understoodthat the cabinet 33 and the radio equipment therein may also be groundedto the single point grounding system SPG of the present invention byconnecting all of the equipment within cabinet 33 and the cabinet itselfto a master ground bus bar therein (not show) and by connecting thismaster ground bus bar to grounding rod 43 by means of a suitablegrounding wire (not shown). Likewise, base receiving stations 31" may belikewise grounded via the single point grounding system of the presentinvention in the same manner as described regarding the servicesprotection enclosure.

Further, service protection enclosure SPE, and more specifically loadpanel 101, includes a transient voltage suppression system therewithin.This transient voltage suppression system, as generally indicated atTVSS (see FIGS. 7 and 11) may, for example, be a 120/240 VAC, 50-60 Hz,3 wire transient voltage surge protector, such as a model 1265-88commercially available from Joslyn Electronic Systems Corporation ofSpokane, Wash. Preferably, the transient voltage suppression system isinstalled in load panel 101 and is connected with the shortest possibleleads to the voltage lines and neutral at the main disconnect forcommercial AC power. This voltage surge protector protects the incomingAC power from lightning transients and switching surges. As shown inFIG. 9, the transient voltage suppression system TVSS is grounded to thesingle point ground SPG by means of a grounding wire 124.

It will be appreciated that there is an advantage to providing surgesuppression in the service protection enclosure SPE of the presentinvention rather than in the BTS cabinet 31 as had heretofore beenconventional in that the services protection enclosure is physicallyseparate from the BTS cabinet to as to protect the BTS cabinet and theradio equipment housed therein from unwanted electromagnetic coupling.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the services protectionenclosure of the present invention may be provided with optionalequipment and features. For example, doors 61 and 63 may be providedwith door alarms which will alert a central security monitoring stationif unauthorized persons open the doors. In addition, a fold down worktable (not shown) may be incorporated in the SPE (preferably on theinside of the door 63) so that service personnel may conveniently workon equipment within the SPE. Further, a tower light control enclosuremay be mounted on a side wall 55 or 57 of the SPE. This tower lightenclosure may house a controller and a power supply for aircraft warningstrobe lights mounted on the antenna tower 3.

The method of this invention relates to the construction a remotewireless telecommunications site 27 or 49. The site has an antenna 3 or51 for transmitting and/or receiving wireless communications. The sitefurther has radio equipment (which may be located in a BTS cabinet 31)and radio frequency transmission cabling 37, 39 for sending andreceiving the communications to and from the antenna. In addition, means(e.g., telco termination panels 114 and connection lines 115) isprovided for connecting the radio equipment to a telephonecommunications network including telephone lines 48 servicing the site.Still further, the site may include means (e.g., AC power lines 47 or anAC generator supplying AC load panel 101) for powering the site and theradio equipment. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the powering means includingAC service lines 47 servicing the site. Importantly, the method of thisinvention is independent of the scheduling of the installation of the ACpower services lines 47 to the site, or of the scheduling of theinstallation of the telephone lines 48 to the site, or of the schedulingof the installation of the radio equipment on the site.

The method comprises the steps of installing a services protectionenclosure SPE at a desired location (e.g., on pad 29) at the site. Theservice protection enclosure has AC service line termination means(e.g., power meter base 95) and an AC power distribution panel 101,telephone line termination means 114, and radio frequency transmissioncabling termination means 79 therein. The services protection enclosurefurther has a telephone termination compartment 73, and an AC serviceline termination compartment 75 separate from the telephone terminationcompartment.

The method further comprises the step of terminating the AC servicelines 47 to the AC termination means 95 in the AC terminationcompartment of the service protection enclosure at such convenient timeafter the AC service lines are provided at the site. It will be notedthat this is not dependent upon the prior or subsequent installation ofany other equipment at the site. The method further involves terminatingthe radio frequency cabling 37, 39 in the services protection enclosureat such convenient time as the radio equipment and/or the antenna areavailable. And the method involves terminating the telephone lines 48,115 within the telephone termination compartment 73 of the servicesprotection enclosure at such time as the telephone lines are provided atthe site.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that in the construction of acell site of the like using a services protection enclosure of thepresent invention substantially frees the construction process from manyscheduling problems. At an early stage of the construction process, theservices protection enclosure SPE is installed on its pad 29. Then, asthe AC service lines are available at the site, the service lines needmerely be connected to the power meter base 95. This then connects theprewired load panel 101 to the AC power. Likewise, whenever in theconstruction process the telephone service lines 48 become available,the telephone line termination panels 114 are available such that workcan be carried out to terminate the telephone lines to the lines 115connecting the radio equipment to the telephone lines. Again, this isindependent of when in the construction process the telephone linesbecome available or when the radio equipment is delivered to the site.Because of the single point grounding system SPG of the presentinvention, it is insured that as these various components are installedat the site, they will be properly grounded in such manner as to besteliminate or minimize the effects of differences in grounding potentialswhich in turn eliminate unwanted ground loop currents or other unwantedtransient voltages or currents from affecting the performance of theradio or telephone signals.

In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects andfeatures of this invention are achieved and other advantageous resultsattained.

As various changes could be made in the above constructions and methodswithout departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended thatall matter contained in the above description or shown in theaccompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense.

What is claimed is:
 1. A service protection enclosure for installationat a cellular telephone or other wireless telecommunication sitecomprising a cabinet being adapted to be installed at the site, saidsite having an antenna and radio frequency equipment for sending andreceiving signals to and from said antenna via radio frequency servicelines, said cabinet having side walls, a top, and at least one doorproviding access to the interior of said cabinet, said cabinet receivingtelephone lines linking said radio frequency equipment to a telephonenetwork and RF service lines linking said radio frequency equipment tosaid cabinet and linking said cabinet to said antenna, the interior ofsaid cabinet having at least two separate compartments therewithinincluding a first compartment for housing termination panels forterminating said telephone lines and a second compartment forterminating said radio frequency lines, said telephone lines and saidradio frequency lines being connected to a single point grounding systemfor grounding of said telephone lines and said of radio frequency linesto common ground potential.
 2. A service protection enclosure as setforth in claim 1 wherein said wireless telecommunications site issupplied with power from AC power service lines, said cabinet furtherreceiving said AC power service lines, said AC power service lines beinggrounded by said single point grounding system so as to have a commonground potential relative to said telephone lines and said radiofrequency lines.
 3. A service protection enclosure (SPE) forinstallation at a cellular telephone or other wireless telecommunicationtransceiver site (27), said site having at least one antenna (3) whichtransceives communication signals, AC power service lines (47) forproviding power to said site, and telephone lines (48) for connectingsaid site with a telephone or other communication network, said serviceprotection enclosure comprising a cabinet (35) having side walls (55,57), a top (53), and at least one door (61 or 63) providing access tothe interior of said cabinet, said cabinet housing an AC powerdistribution panel (101), said cabinet receiving said AC power servicelines (47) and said telephone lines (48), the interior of said cabinethaving at least two separate compartments (73, 75) therewithin includinga first compartment (73) for housing telephone terminations (114) and asecond compartment (75) for housing said AC power distribution panel,said components and terminations within said service protectionenclosure being grounded to common ground potential (43).
 4. A serviceprotection enclosure as set forth in claim 3 wherein said site has radioequipment (31) for receiving and sending radio signals from and to saidantenna (3), radio frequency transmission lines (37, 39) for connectingsaid radio equipment and said antenna to as to carry said signalstherebetween, and wherein said cabinet further has another compartment(77) for housing radio frequency transmission line terminations (79),said radio frequency transmission line terminations also being groundedto said common ground potential.